Hello Neighbour,

I hope you're enjoying the beautiful fall colors in our ward! As your City Councillor, I always look forward to these monthly updates – they're my opportunity to share what's happening at City Hall and, more importantly, to invite you into the conversation about our community's future.

Transit Safety in Focus

Many of you have reached out to me about safety on our LRT system, and I want to share some important insights from our recent Committee discussions.

You might be surprised to hear this, but installing fare gates – which seems like an obvious solution – isn't as straightforward as we might think. Our current system still uses cash fares and paper transfers, and children under 12 ride free without cards. This means we'd need staff at every gate - a significant ongoing cost.

What concerns me most is that we don't even have accurate ridership counts – City Administration only counts one station per month! How can we make informed decisions about fare evasion without knowing how many people are actually using our system?

But here's the good news: we can take immediate action by adding more Transit Police Officers within our existing budgets. I'm pushing for this increase because I believe it will make a real difference in both actual safety and how safe people feel using our transit system.

And as for fare gates, let's see what happens as we modernize our transit system to eliminate paper products, add those Transit Police Officers and gather firm data on LRT ridership.

Read my blog post on LRT Safety.

Downtown's Future: We Need Partners

The proposed Downtown Investment Plan outlines bold ideas for Edmonton's core. The vision is compelling – a vibrant downtown with more residents, fewer vacant buildings, and renewed energy. But we need to talk about how to make this happen responsibly.

Our neighbors in Calgary received provincial funding exceeding $300 million for their "Entertainment District." Edmonton deserves comparable support. We need our provincial partners to step up and match this investment, along with extending the Community Revitalization Levy (CRL). Without these partnerships, the $400 million price tag would put too much burden on Edmonton taxpayers.

Read my blog post on Investing in Edmonton's Downtown.

Working Together on City Funding

You've told me you're frustrated about rising property taxes while seeing services decrease. I hear you, and I agree – we need to do better. While we absolutely need more provincial support, I believe the path forward involves real conversations and collaboration, not automated websites and form letters.

In my experience, building strong partnerships with other levels of government requires face-to-face discussions, understanding shared priorities, and finding common ground. That's why I'm focusing on direct engagement with our provincial counterparts, looking for practical solutions that benefit both Edmonton and Alberta as a whole.

Read my blog post on Edmonton’s Funding Dilemma.

Important Budget Update

Last week, the City released its fall budget adjustment reports, and I want to be upfront with you about what this means for our community. The proposed property tax increase for 2025 is 8.1 percent – significantly higher than what many households can manage in these challenging times.

While some of these pressures come from inflation and population growth, I believe we need to look deeper at how we're managing taxpayer dollars. Yes, we're facing real challenges – including a projected $34 million deficit this year – but my focus remains on finding efficiencies before asking you to pay more.

Administration is proposing $8.5 million in ongoing savings, but I think we can do more. As your Councillor, I'm committed to scrutinizing every dollar in our budget during the upcoming deliberations. We need to focus on core services, challenge unnecessary spending, and ensure your tax dollars are delivering real value for our community.

Budget deliberations will take place from December 2 to 5, and this leads me to an important invitation...

Let's Talk: November Town Hall

I invite you to join me on Wednesday, November 27, from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM at the Booster Juice Recreation Centre in Terwillegar (Multi-purpose Room #4). We'll focus on the upcoming City Budget, but I'm eager to hear your thoughts on any city issue that matters to you.

Ways to Join:

• In Person: Just drop in! No registration required
• Virtually: Join via Zoom using this link
• More details will be available on our Facebook Event Page

Have a specific topic you'd like me to address? Send me an email before the event. There will also be plenty of time for questions during our discussion.

Bring your neighbours, bring your questions, and bring your ideas. These conversations help shape our community's future, and I'm looking forward to hearing from you!

Moving Forward Together

Our conversations – whether at community events, through email, or at town halls – shape my work on Council. Your insights help me better represent our ward's needs and priorities.

My office is always here to help with your city-related concerns. Don't hesitate to reach out.